To an Irresolute Man

Poem by Fanny De Beauharnais Collection Miscellaneous Fugitive Poems and Prose of No ConsequencePeriod 18th century

Between sentiment and art,
Unhappy is he who wavers!
Such a lover is but an old man,
Closer than he thinks to childhood.
Languid hearts, sad humans,
You need artificial beauties.
To revive your extinguished tastes,
You require artifices.
See your happiness die,
Feeble child of imposture:
It is weakness, or it is error,
That takes you away from Nature.
Constancy, which frightens you,
Always brings me back to its law:
The strong soul holds to its chain;
And this sole good is not deceitful.
The rest, alas! is but chimera.
For a God to enjoy in turn,
He must love as he knows how to please:
Psyche sufficed for Love.

fanny-de-beauharnais

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